Means for printing and associating folded sheets



3 Sheets-Sheet 1,

(No Model.)

W. SCOTT. MEANS FOR PRINTING AND ASSOGIATING FOLDED SHEETS.

Patented Apr. 14, 1896.

ANDREW BLRANAM. PHOTD-LI'I'NU.WASHINGTDN D.C.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2. SCOTT. MEANS FOR PRINTING AND-ASSOGIATING FOLDED SHEETS.

No. 558,424. Patented Apr. 14, 1896.

AN DREW BJSRANAM FHOTD-UTHOVWASHINEIUNIC.

MEANS FOR PRINTINGAND ASSOGIATING FOLDED SHEETS,

Patented Apr. 14, '1896.

,1"7I[III/III,IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ANDREW EGRAHAM. PNOTO-UTMQWASHINETDN. DYC,

UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE.

IVALTER SCOTT, OF PLAINFIELD, NEW JERSEY.

MEANS FOR PRINTING AND ASSOCIATING FOLDED SHEETS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 558,424, dated April 14, 1896.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I; WALTER SCOTT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Plain field, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey, have invented an Improvement in Means for Printing and Associating Folded Sheets, of which the following is a specification.

In Letters Patent No. 467,265, granted to me January 19, 1892, a press is represented that is adapted to bringing together the webs from three printing-presses and folding and cutting the same.

The present invention relates especially to folding and delivering mechanism adapted to printing-presses that print upon one or more webs, as in said patent. In this class of machines the web of paper is passed over inclined converging folders and between two pairs of rolls immediately before the Web is severed transversely into sheets or groups of sheets, but I have found difficulty in running the paper through between the folding-rolls in such a manner as to avoid creasing adjacent to the fold. This appears to arise from the fact that the apex of the inclined converging folders has to come above the line where the rolls act at the opposite sides of the folded web. This difficulty is removed by locating the apex of the inclined converging folders at or near a plane passing through the axes of the first pair of rolls, and to permit the apex of the folder to be located in this position the folding-rolls are turned down or made smaller adjacent to the apex, so as to give the space required for the folded paper to pass around the apex of the inclined folders as the web passes through between the folding-rolls. Frequently difficulty is experienced in passing the end of the web through between the first pair of rolls in starting the press. I overcome this by placing the rolls upon arms or radius-bars, so that the rolls can be moved laterally away from each other for the insertion of the advancing end of the web, and these rolls are pressed toward each other uniformly and by yielding pressure, so that they apply the necessary force in acting upon the paper or effecting the preliminary fold and the paper is forwarded to the nextpair of rolls or to the cutting-cylinder, and these rolls yield to unusual thicknesses of paper passing Serial No. 474,018. (No model.)

through between them, so as to avoid injury to the press in case a sheet becomes crumpled or injured and to accommodate different thicknesses from two or more webs. I also find that the aforesaid improvement of'placing the apex of the converging folders near a plane passing through the axes of the rolls and removing or reducing the size of the rolls adjacent to the folders allows the paper to pass through more advantageously and with less risk of injury, especially where the paper is liable to crack or crease near the fold of the same.

WVhere two or more webs are associated together by being laid one upon the other and then passed through the press and upon an inclined converging folder, the power employed in drawing the webs through the press acts upon the outer web to cause the same to move with the greatest speed, and the friction of the inclin ed converging folders is upon the inner web. For this reason there isatendency for the outer web to get out of register with the inner web, the outer web advancing faster than the inner web. To overcome this difficulty the tension applied to the three webs has been varied, the greatest tension being applied to the web that passes in contact with the folding incline'and less tension applied to the next web and still less tension to the third or outer web; but in practice 1 have found that the tension applied to the inner web has to be so great as to be liable to injure the paper web and even then accuracy of register between the printed matter upon the three webs as cut off into sheets is very uncertain. I find that two or three webs can be run through a printing-machine and under approximately similar tensions by making the press or printing mechanism that acts upon the inner web slightly smaller than the printing mechanism or press that acts upon the next or the outer web, so that the matter printed on the web that passes in contact with the surface of the longitudinal folder is slightly shorter than that on the outer web or webs, and the power applied to draw the webs along over the longitudinal folding-incline stretches the inner web slightly and the register of the printed matter, as cut ofi into sheets, is maintained, notwithstanding the additional fact that the rolls that draw along the web act upon the outer web and tend to give the same a slightly-greater movement than the movement given to the web or webs that are within such outer folded web.

In associating together the printed sheets from two or more webs it is advantageous to be able to bring the products from all the webs together so as to deliver them as one product, or to change the press so as to deliver two products separately. In the present improvements I arrange the parts in such a manner as to direct the sheets from two or more webs, so that they pass off as one product to one delivery mechanism, or as two products, the sheets from one web going to one delivery mechanism and from the other web or webs to another delivery mechanism.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a diagrammatic longitudinal section of the principal parts of the presses. Fig. 2 is a detached view of the driving mechanism for the impression-cylinders. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the lower end of the converging folder, the rollers, and cutters in larger size. Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating the gearing for driving the sheetdelivery mechanism. Fig. 5 is a diagram of the delivery mechanism viewed from the line as w of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 shows the end part of one of the folding-rollers. Fig. 7 shows a modification of the folding-roller and part of the incline. Fig. 8 shows a modification in the mechanism for supporting and moving the folding-rolls, and Fig. 9 is a section in larger size of the bevel driving-gears. Fig. 10 is a diagram illustrating the differences in the sizes of the impression-cylinders.

I have not represented the supportingframes of the machine because the same may be of any desired character as usual in printing machinery, and the essential features of the invention are more clearly shown and easily understood without such frames.

The second-impression cylinders C C C the printing-cylinders A A A and D D D and first-impression cylinders B B B are similar to those in my aforesaid patent, and the printed webs are carried along by the tapes 6 7 8 and brought by the tapes or belts 20 and 21 to the roll 11, at the head of the inclined converging folders G, substantially in a manner similar to that represented in my aforesaid patent, and these parts do not therefore require further description, except as hereinafter set forth.

I find it advantageous to apply the motive power to the first-impression cylinders B B 3 by a vertical shaft a, to which suitable power is to be applied, and upon this vertical shaft are the bevel-gears b to the bevel-wheels c c 0 upon the shafts of the first'impression cylinders B B B and the bevelwheels c c c are movable end Wise of the shafts of said firstimpression cylinders, so as to connect or disconnect either of the printing devices, and from the shafts of the first-impression cylinders B B B the power is communicated to the respective impression and printing cylinders by trains of gearing, as usual, and when eitherof the printing devices is to be stopped it is only necessary to shift the bevel-gear c c 0 along upon its shaft to separate its teeth from the corresponding bevel-gear 1) upon the vertical shaft a.

The bevel-gears upon the impression-cylinders B B B are each advantageously made to surround and slide upon a sleeve 3, having a key or feather for insuring the rotation of such gear, and the sleeve is permanently fastened upon the shaft and provided with a collar at the outer end, with which the hub of the gear comes into contact when the teeth of the bevel-gears interlock. This collar insures the proper relative positions of the teeth, and when thus moved the gear-wheel is held in position by a set-screw through the hub or by a movable fork or shoe introduced between the hub and the journal-box of the shaft.

According to the direction in which the webs are led and the direction in which the inclined converging folders G G are placed, so that the web from the roll E or from the roll IE will come next to the folder G, I have represented the web which comes from the roll E as passing next to the surface of thefoldcr G, and with the object in view of insuring a perfect registration between the different printed webs that are associated together I make the printing mechanism that acts on the web from the roll E slightly smaller than the printing mechanism of the other press or presses.

It is not necessary to make the printingcylinders smaller if the impression-cylinders are slightly smaller, because the web of paper passes around the impression-cylinder l5, and the difference in measurement is so very little that no injury to the printing occurs; but the difference of measurement is simply sufficient to insure a proper registration between the different webs that are associated together, notwithstanding the fact that the web from the roll E is exposed to the detaining action of the friction upon the folder G and the web E or E is liable to be slightly accelerated in consequence of the pulling action of the delivery-rollers being upon the outer web. By this slight difference in the speed of feeding the web from the roll E there is no tendency for such web E to slack between the printing and delivery mechanism, and hence the registration of one sheet upon the other is maintained. The web that is next to the folding-incline being stretched and detained by the friction eventually would become loose and be carried in with the folds or wrinkles. By supplying the inner web slightly slower, as before described, a nearly uniform tension on the webs is maintained, the printing registers on the different webs, and the wrinkling is prevented.

It is to be borne in mind that in web-printing machines it is usual to m ake use of guiderollers in different places over which the webs of paper pass, and these guide-rollers usually have a surface speed that is slightly greater than the speed of the web of paper, in order that the friction of the guide-rollers may tend to maintain a slight tension upon the web or webs of paper but the web of paper is not seized and positively moved except by the type-cylinders, where the web of paper is pressed against the impression-cylinders.

\Vhere there have been two presses, one over the other, as in my Patent No. 44:6,696, or, in some instances, three similar presses, as in Patent No. 467,265, delivering the two or three webs in the same direction to pass together over a converging incline to fold the said webs longitudinally, I have found that there is a tendency for the webs to get out of register, and the lower web that passes nextto and directly upon the folding-incline is slightly detained by the friction, and if this detention causes the web to stretch only the two-hundredth part of an inch on each impression the webs will be out of register an inch in two hundred impressions, and, in addition to this, there will be an objectionable slackness between the printing and folding devices that is liable to form folds, creases, and other objectionable irregularities.

I have discovered that by making the mechanism of the printing-press that prints thelower web slightly smaller than that which prints the second web the aforesaid difficulties will be avoided, because the web that is directly in contact with the surface of the folding-incline will be supplied by the printing-press slightly slower to make up for the stretching or detaining operation of the longitudinal folder on the paper. There are several waysin which this slight difference of speed in the respective printing-presses may be obtained. I have illustrated in Fig. 10, by an exaggerated diagram, that the cylinder C is to be smaller than the cylinder 0, so as to direct attention to the fact that the lower press supplies the web slightly slower than the press above.

In constructing the two or three presses reference is had to the object to be accomplished, and by making the impression-cylinder of the lower press slightly the smallest in diameter, as aforesaid, or the impression and plate cylinders slightly the smallest, the aforesaid object will be accomplished, and there will be no inconvenience in the use of stereotypes or electrotype-plates, because the slight differerences in sizes of the cylinders will not interfere with the reception of the plates, as there are always spaces between the ends of such plates.

It is to be understood that the register of the printed pages is maintained as the webs are drawn over the folding-incline in consequence of the shorter web being stretched by the tension applied to it in overcoming the friction on the folding-incline, or else the inner web, being slightly shorter,remains in register with the outer webs, as these outer webs are moved along slightly faster by the forwarding-rolls that act on them.

The devices for inking the printing-cylinders and for applying paste may be of any de sired character and the arrangement of beltsv between the presses and the roller 11 may be delivering mechanism acting upon the webs after they have passed the rollers 11 and 41. The slitting-wheel 55 is advantageously applied at the center of the web or webs and the same is supported upon a cross-shaft 50 supported at its ends upon the frame of the machine, and the slitter may be set and held in position by a clamping-screw through the stock 54 upon the cross-shaft 50. Hence it can be accurately adjusted to the center of the web or Webs. This incline G is of ordinary character, but the lower end or apex of the incline passes down to the same level, or nearly so, as the axes of the rolls (1 and e, and these rolls are turned off so as be to smaller near the apex of the incline, as shown at the reduced portions 5, so that there is ample room for the paper between the lower end of the inclined converging folder and the surfaces of the rolls d e, and it is to be observed that the folder G converges toward the lower end or apex, the wider portion being at the top end, so that the Web passing over such incline G falls into a central fold and the two parts of the web come together between the rolls d and e, and the paper passes around the apex of the folder with facility, and at that part or fold said paper is not acted upon by the rolls cl and e. Hence the web is not liable to become creasedor wrinkled at the fold or to be torn. This is a great advantage, especially with paper that is liable to crack as it passes around the apex of the folder.-

Upon reference to Figs. 3 and 6, it will be observed that the converging edges of the folding-incline G are not in tangential planes to the operative surfaces of the rolls D and E, but they are in planes that are nearer to the axes of such rolls than tangents, and the operative surfaces of such rolls D E or of guide-bars, their well-known equivalents, apply tension to the portions of the paper passing over the converging edges of such incline G really higher up than the point at which the edges of the incline converge or come together, and for this reason the fold itself of the paper has little or no tension applied to it, and the paper at the fold assumes the desired shape without being exposed to a detrimental tension and the two thicknesses of the paper come together smoothly and without injury in passing through the rolls that apply the drawing-tension that forwards the folded Web, and this operation is especially advantageous where two or more webs are being folded 1011- gitudinally and simultaneously, and the duty of the lower end or apex of the former is simply to prevent either of the webs folding inwardly instead of outwardly.

In cases where the converging edges of the folding-incline stand either as tangents to the operative surfaces of the folding rolls or guides, or where such folding rolls or guides are below the apex of the folding-incline instead of being above, as in my case, the apex or point of the former has to act within the fold of the web to prevent such web changing its position in relation to the rolls or guides; but when the rolls or guides are located and act as in the present improvement the paper at the fold itself is substantially relieved from strain at or adjacent to the apex of the incline.

The folded web or webs pass from the rolls (Z c in between the drawing-rolls f and g and thence to the cutting-cylinders H H, and these drawing-rolls f and g are set up sufficiently close together to move the sheet along with uniformity and draw the same over the inclined converging folder G, and the fold in such sheet is compressed more or less by the action of the rolls f and g, although it is not necessary to apply much pressure at the fold.

The rolls (Z e usually do not apply tension to the folded web or webs, but serve to pass the web or webs along to the cutting-cylinders II II or to the intermediate rolls f g, (but I do not limit myself in this particular,) and in consequence of the folded product varying considerably in thickness according to the number of webs associated together it is of importance that both of these rolls should be movable equally and simultaneously at each side of the apex of the inclined folder by any suitable means. The action of these rolls d e is limited to the parts of the folded web or webs as laid together without pressing upon the fold itself. For this reason the ends of the rollers may terminate entirely behind the apex of the folding-incline, as seen in Fig. 7,

audit is to be understood that the apex of the incline simply acts within the fold to press or crease the same outwardly and prevent the paper buckling inwardly at the fold, and when this is effected the crease or fold is fiattened down by the action of the pair of rollers f g or by the perforating or cutting cylinders or by the subsequent folding operations.

I remark that the operation performed in folding is the same whether a single web is passing over the inclined folder G or whether two or more webs are associated together in the folding and cutting operation, and I also remark that the inclined converging folder G is similar to the folder G, and the pairs of rolls (1 e and f g are similar in their construction, location, and operation to the rolls before described, and that when the printing is being performed on one or more webs of half-width, then only one inclined folder, with its drawing and cutting rolls, may be made use of and the slitting-wheel 55 will not be in operation.

I will now describe the devices employed in connection with the inclined folder G and then describe the manner in which the webs upon the folders G and G are brought together as one product after folding and cutting.

The cylinders H II preferably perforate the paper in a row of closely-contiguous perforations across the folded web or webs, and the acceleratingbelts that receive the folded product effect the entire separation of one product from the other, and with this object in view I employ the belts 12 and 13, passing around the pulleys 14 15 16 and around the cylinder I, having a breaker-bar h, which breaker-bar may be substantially similar to that shown in my Patent No. 484,251, and the belts 12 and 13 serve to guide the product along between them with but little frietion, and the parts are so timed that the breaker-bar h impinges the paper between its surface and the roll 16, and the operation is performed at the proper time for passing the folded product along between the belts 12 and the belts 17 to the transverse folding apparatus. The belts 12 in addition to passing around the pulleys l5 and 16 also pass around the guide-pulley 19 and tightener 18, and the belts 17 pass around the pulley 22' contiguous to the pulley 16 over the pulleys 23 24, and there is the tightener 25 to these belts, and there is a switch K adjacent to the rolls 16 and 22, that serve to guide the folded sheet around the pulley 16 and to cause it to pass between the belts 12 and 17, and when the position of the switch K is changed the product as it is separated by the breaker-bar will pass around the pulley 26 and between the belts 27 and 28 to be associated with the folded product passing over the incline G, as hereinafter described.

The set of tapes or belts 28 preferably pass over the cylinder 1, against the roller 16, and around the roller 26 and beneath the cylinder I and over the cylinder I. Thereby the sheet is guided as it passes from between the tapes 12 and '13 around the roll 26 and along between the tapes 27 and 2S and up to the guide-bars 34 and thence between the tapes and over the roll 23 to the folding and delivery mechanism.

I make use of a rotary folder formed with blades L L upon the arms L, that are carried by the rotary shaft M, and this shaft is rotated by gearing of any suitable character. I have shown in Fig. 4a diagram of the gearin g that may be made use of in driving the respective parts, and there are shafts Zwhich carry the folding-blades L, and these shafts are in bearings upon the arms L, and there are gear-wheels upon the respective shafts Z, gearing into internal gears m, supported upon the frame of the machine, and the direction and speed of rotation are such that the edges of the folding-blades describe cycloidal IIO curves and they pass around in succession, and the blade, the edge of which is adjacent to the roller 24, comes down upon the middle of the sheet to be folded and carries the same in between the roller 24 and the adjacent roller 29, so as to fold the sheet and cause the said rollers 24 and 29 to carry the sheet with the folded edge downwardly for the same to drop into the receptacle N, which receptacle N is of suitable size for the reception of the folded product and is preferably at a clownward inclination as usual in this class of machines.

It is advantageous to employ the guide-bars 30, which extend across above the rollers 24 and 29, and also to make use of guide-bars 31, passing beyond the roller 29 to support the sheet previous to its being folded by one of the blades L, pressing the center of such sheet down between the rolls 24 and 29, and there are vertical guiderods 32, that cause the folded product to descend vertically in passing down to the receptacle N.

The rolls 24 and 29 should apply to the sheet a pressure suflicient to properly crease the transverse fold as the product is carried down by one of the blades L between such rolls 24 and 29, but as-the product may Vary in thickness it is disadvantageous for these rolls to occupy rigid positions. I therefore mount the axes of these rolls 24 and 29 upon the arms 01 n upon cross rock-shafts 0 0, preferably at their lower ends, and there are springs 17, acting against the arms n n to press the rollers 24 and 29 toward each other, and the stop q limits the movements and causes the rollers 24 and 29 to assume the proper positions in relation to the folding-blades L.

The folded products are delivered from the rolls 24 29 and 24 and 29 to the respective receptacles N N by any suitable mechanism. Guide-bars are shown at 32 and 32 The devices heretofore described as employed in connection with the web that is folded over the incline G are duplicated and applied in the same manner and for the same purpose so far as the folding and cutting of lhe web that passes over the incline G, and these parts do not need further description. The positions, however, of the respective parts are slightly varied for effecting the ob-.

ject hereinafter described, and the web which is folded over the incline G passes between the rolls d e and between the'drawing-rolls f g, and the cutting-cylinders H H perfosheet delivery mechanism, as before described, I am able to run through the press one web and slit the same longitudinally and fold the products and deliver them separately, or two or more webs can be associated together and slit longitudinally and the products delivered separately, or where there are two or more presses full-width webs can be run through all the presses or through one or more of such presses, or half-width webs can be run through either one or more of the presses and the products can be separately delivered into the product-receptacles N and N. It is important, however, frequently to bring together the folded products, so as to make one large product from the combined presses or to combine the products from one or two of the presses. For effecting the aforesaid object I convey the product from the web that passes over the incline G after the said product has been separated by the action of the breaker-bar it between the belts or tapes 27 the switch K being raised, as shown, so that the folded sheet or product passes below the switch K and around the roller 26, over the belt 2'7, beneath the guide-roller 33, and carry the same up by the belts 27 below the stationary guide-bars 34 to the pulley 16 and thence over the pulley 23 and the parts are so timed that the advancing end of the sheet, as it is carried between the belt 27, reaches the pulley 16 and coincides with the advancing end of the sheet coming from the cutting-cylinders H, so that the two products pass on together and up over the pulley 23 beneath the rods or guide-bars 30 and are folded together by the rotary blades L and pass down through between the rolls 24 and 29 and are passed as one product into the receptacle N.

It will be apparent that by the aforesaid improvements the press is adapted to the delivery of folded and complete products according to the edition of the newspaper or other periodical, so that great numbers of small papers can be delivered or the number of sheets can be increased in the product, so that the three webs as printed by the three presses can be brought together to make up one product, and but little change or adjustment is required to adapt the machine to the production of the required product.

Itis important that the rolls d e be rotated frictionally if they grip the paper so as not to tear the same if the rotating devices are traveling slightly faster than the web, and in cases where friction clutches have been used in drawing such rolls the friction has been found unreliable and variable in consequence of changes in temperature. I avoid these difficulties by providing belt-pulleys on the projecting shafts of the rolls d e and pulleys on the shafts of the rolls f and g, and pass a belt 40 around the tightener 41 and around the pulleys 42 and under the pulley 43 and under the pulley 44 and over the pulley 45, as seen in Fig. 8, so that both rolls cl and 6 will be driven by one belt and about the same extent IIO of surface 011 each pulley will be in contact with the belt, and thereby there will be uniformity in the rotating force 011 both rolls and the tension of the belt can be varied by the aetion of the tightener.

hen the rolls f and g are employed for drawing the web along as it passes from the folding-inclines, such rollers are preferably rotated by the belt shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3, because the belt will slip if the tension upon the web becomes too great. This belt is to pass around pulleys at the ends of the rollers f and g and around a pulley at the end of one of the cutting-cylinders II, as indicated by the dotted line in Fig. 3, there being a tightener f to act upon this belt and regulate the friction of said belt upon its respective pulleys, the object that is accomplished being similar to that heretofore spoken of in connection with the driving of the rolls (Z and e. In both instances the friction can be regulated by a screw acting upon the arm carrying the tightening-pulley, as seen in Fig. 8, or any other. suitable adjusting mechanism that can be readily regulated by the attendant pressman so as to prevent the web of paper being drawn too tight orbecoming slack.

If the rolls (1 and e at the sides of the apex of the incline G were not both moved to an equal extent, the creasing of the fold would not be uniform and the action would be unreliable when the number of thicknesses of paper varied. Instead, therefore, of having one roll stationary and the other yielding, as in my Patent No. 351,470, I find it very important to have both rollers moved equally, whether adjusted by hand or moving automatically by the passing paper.

In Fig. 3 the rolls (1 and e are represented at the ends of arms and 61, that are provided with interlocking segment gears so that they will swing equally on the pivots or cross-shafts 62 63, and the spring 64 applies the pressure to force the rolls toward each other, but allows them to yield to extra thicknesses of paper that may pass between the rolls (Z and e, and the lever-arm 65 may be used for separating the rolls by hand. Suitable stops, such as at 60, may be used to regulate the proximity of the rolls (Z and 6. I11 Fig. 8 I have shown these rolls (1 e as upon arms 50 51, pivoted at their lower ends and provided with connecting-rods 52 53 to opposite cranks upon a cross-shaft 54, to which may be applied a lever-handle 55, so as to open the rolls simultaneously and equally, and a spring at 56 around one of the rods 53, between a collar on the rod and a lug 011 the frame, through which the said rod 53 slides freely, is a convenient way of applying the yielding force that keeps the rolls toward each other, and an adj usting-screw 57 forms a stop to prevent the rolls approaching -too near each other.

The frictional belt applies the proper tension to the web by driving the rolls that draw such webs along, and the belt will slip when the tension 011 the paper is too great, so as to prevent injury to the paper, and in consequence of one or both of the drawing-rolls yielding to varying thicknesses of paper that may be drawn along the risk of the webs becoming injured is reduced to a minimum, because a uniformity of tension is applied even when unusual thicknesses, such as may result from one web being joined onto another, are passing between the rollers that draw the webs along.

In the diagram Fig. 4 the dotted circles indicate the gear-wheels that can be employed in transmitting motion from one part to another, and there are crosses at the intersections of the circles to indicate where one wheel gears with the next, and the letters of reference corresponding to the rollers, cylinders, or shafts are placed upon this figure to show the parts that are driven by the particular gear-wheels, but as such trains of gearing are common in printing-presses the same do not need further description.

lVhen the two folders are used to deliver one product, as aforesaid, it is to be understood that one press is used to print one part of the product and the other press the other part of the product, and that the part products may be from full or half width webs and that the products are so brought together that the sheets and pages are in the proper order.

It is not necessary that the rolls (Z and a should revolve. I have spoken of them as rolls, but this expression is intended to ap ply to bars, rollers, or other external guides or turners that operate upon the web as it passes from the foldingincline, and while it is ad vantageous to rotate the rollers (Z and c by the belt 40, as illustrated in Fig. 8, or by the belts which are shown in Fig. 5 as passing from tighteners adjacent to the edges of the inclines G G and around the respective rolls a f e f, I do not limit myself in this particular, and where the rolls (1 e are rotated and come sufficiently close together to nip the paper they act as forwarding-rolls, and the folded web may be passed from these rolls direct to the cutting-eylinders, but I find it the most advantageous to use the rolls f and g as the forwarding-rolls, because they are at a sufficient distance from the lower end of the incline G to act upon the folded web, and it is only necessary to allow the roller 9 to yield when a thicker product passes between the rolls, the roller f being in rigid bearings.

The spring that acts against the bearing for the roller 9 is represented in Fig. 8, and such springs are to be applied to the bearings for both the rollers g and g.

In cases where the forwarding-rolls f and g are dispensed with the cutting-cylinders H Il may act to draw the paper along and over the incline G and between the rollers or external turners d and c.

It is to be understood that full-width webs may be printed on all three of the presses,

and that half-width webs may be printed on one or more of the presses, and that these products may be delivered jointly or separately, as required. To illustrate,a f ull-width web may be printed upon the bottom press and two half-webs, one at one side of the middle press and the other at the other side of the upper press, and that the full-width web may be slit longitudinally and associated with the half-width webs, the products going over the folding-inclines G and G, respectively, and, if desired, half-width webs alone might be run through without a full-width web, as aforesaid, 0r whole-width webs may be printed on one or more of the presses and slit up longitudinally and folded, as aforesaid, and where it is desired to cut the associated products simultaneously the product that passes over the incline G and is folded longitudinally thereon may be carried around the roller f to the cutting-cylinders H H, as indicated by dotted line at Z, so as to bring the longitudinally-folded webs together before they are cut or perforated.

It is to be borne in mind that in rotary printing-machines the impressioil-cylinder is usually provided with a blanket, and that when the blanket is first applied it is much thicker than it is after long use, but the peripheral measurements of the plate or type cylinders remain unaltered, and notwithstanding the variation in the relative peripheral measurements of the type-cylinders and the impression-cylinders, the printing is not inj uriously affected by the change in the size of the impression-cylinders due to the compression or wear upon the blanket. For these reasons it is usually the most reliable in constructing and operating the press to make the plate or type cylinders in the press that acts upon the under web slightly the smallest, so as to maintain a proper register between the impressions of the two webs when brought together, although the under web may be stretched in consequence of the friction of the web upon the surface of the longitudinal folder.

The types of the printing-cylinders embed themselves more or less into the webs, so as to carry them along with great reliability and thus become the means of feeding the Webs, as aforesaid,to insure accuracy in the register.

In the present invention the presses that act-upon the separate webs and make up the printing-machine as a Whole are in line with each other and the edges of the webs travel in substantially the same vertical planes. Hence the webs are easily and reliably brought together where the sheets are out off to form one product and with accurate register of the printed matter, whereas, in presses in which the webs are turned at an angle in bringing them together the risk of disturbance and inaccuracy in the register is augmented.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination in a machine for printing on two webs, of two printing-presses, a stationary folder for folding the two Webs longitudinally one upon the other, rollers for drawing the webs along over such longitudinal folder, and cutters for perforating or cutting the webs'into sheets, the printing devices in the press that act upon the web that comes next to the inclined converging folder being slightly smaller than the printing devices in the second press that act upon the outer web so that the inner web is supplied to the longitudinal folding mechanism slightly slower than the outer web to insure a proper register of the printed matter, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination in a machine for printing on three webs, of three presses or sets of printing devices, a stationary folder for folding the three webs longitudinally one upon the other, rollers for drawing the webs along over such longitudinal folder, and cutters for perforating or cutting off the webs, the respective printing presses or devices for printing varying slightly in size so as to forward the webs at the proper relative speeds to maintain a register of the printed andlongitudinally-folded sheets by counteracting the tendency of the folder to detain the inner web and of the rolls to draw the outer web along fastest, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination with a pair of rolls that draw the folded web along, of a folding-incline the edges of which converge to an apex or point, two rolls having their operative surfaces behind said apex and the axes of which rolls are in a plane coinciding or nearly so with the apex of the folding-incline, whereby the web is exposed to a less drawing tension at or near the fold than it is in the other portions, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination with the folder having inclined sides, of rolls or guides the surfaces of which that act on the paper are behind the converging edges of the folding-incline in an axial direction and the edges of the inclines are nearer to the axes of the rolls or guides than the operative surfaces of such rolls or guides, substantially as specified.

5. The combination in a longitudinal folding mechanism, of an incline having straight converging edges and two rolls or guides that act upon the web behind the apex and after it passes the edges of the folding-incline, the edges of such folding-incline being nearer to theaxes of the folding rolls or guides than the operative surfaces of such rolls or guides whereby the tension that draws the web along is lessened at the fold of the paper, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination in a longitudinal folding mechanism, of a folding incline the straight edges of which converge to an apex or point, two rolls having their operative surfaces behind said apex and the axes of which rolls are in a plane coinciding or nearly so with the apex of the folding-incline, whereby the web is exposed to a less drawing tension at or near the fold than it is in the other portions, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination with the converging folding-incline, of rollers adjacent to the apex of the incline and between which the folded web passes, yielding supports for both of said rolls, and mechanism substantially as specified for opening both rolls simultaneously and equally, substantially as set forth.

8. The combination with a rotary folder having revolving blades for folding the sheet transversely, of rollers or pulleys between which the sheet is folded by the action of the blades, pivoted arms for carrying the axes of the rollers, springs for pressing the rollers toward each other, and stops for determining the positions of the rollers in relation to the folding-blades, substantially as set forth.

9. The combination in a printing-machine adapted to print on two or more webs, of two or more printing mechanisms each adapted to print upon one web and forward the same to a common point of delivery, the edges of the webs moving in substantially the same vertical planes, and mechanism for superimposing, folding and cutting such webs, the mechanism that prints upon one web being slightly smaller than the mechanism for printing on the other web, so as to maintain an accurate register of the printed sheets and neutralize any action in the machine tending to render the register of the sheets inaccurate, substantially as set forth.

10. The combination in a sheet delivery and folding apparatus, of a converging foldingincline, rollers adjacent to the apex of the incline, and supports and connected yielding mechanism for both of said rollers, so that they may open or close uniformly at each side of the apex according to the thickness of the product passing through between them, a stop to limit the movement of the rollers toward each other,and a lever-handle for separating the rolls, substantially as set forth.

11. The combination with a pair of rolls that draw the folded web along, of an incline having converging edges and two rolls or guides that act upon the web behind the apex and afterit passes the edges of the folding-incline, the edges of such folding-incline being nearer to the axes of such folding rolls or guides than tangential planes at the operative surfaces of such rolls or guides whereby the tension upon the web directly at the fold of the paper is lessened, and yielding supports for both of such rolls or guides to adapt the same to two or more thicknesses of paper, substantially as set forth.

12. The combination with a folder, of rolls adjacent to the apex of the folder, a rockershaft parallel to such rolls, arms for carrying the bearings of one of the rolls, pivoted arms for the bearings of the other roll, and interlocking toothed segments and a lever-handle for moving back the rolls to give room for the insertion of the paper, and a spring for pressing the rolls toward each other with uniformity at opposite sides of and adjacent to the apex of the inclined converging folder, substantially as set forth.

13. The combination in a printing-press, of two converging folders for folding the webs longitudinally, rollers for drawing such webs along over the folders and blades for perforating the folded webs transversely, adjacent revolving shafts and breaker-bars for separating the folded and perforated webs into sheets and accelerating their movements, tapes or belts and pulleys for carrying the sheets in opposite directions, transverse folders acting upon the sheets,and receptacles and means for introducing the folded products into the same, and a switch and belts near one of the breakers for carrying the sheets in the opposite direction when the products are to be brought together, substantially as specifled.

14. The combination with a converging folding-incline, of rolls adjacent to the apex of the incline for acting on the folded web, yielding bearings for the same, and pulleys and a belt and tightener for driving such rollers by the friction of the belt, substantially as set forth.

15. The combination in a longitudinal folding mechanism, of an incline having convergin g edges and two rolls or guides that act upon the web behind the apex and after it passes the edges of the folding-incline, the edges of such folding-incline being nearer to the axes of such folding rolls or guides than the operative surfaces of such rolls or guides whereby the tension upon the web directly at the fold of the paper is lessened, and yielding supports for both of such rolls or guides to adapt the same to two or more thicknesses of paper, and an adjustable stop to regulate the distance between the rolls or guides and hand-actuated mechanism for moving back both rolls or guides for the insert-ion of the web, substantially as set forth.

1 6. The combination with a pair of rolls that draw the folded web along, of an incline having converging edges and two rolls or guides that act upon the web behind the apex and after it passes the edges of the folding-incline, the edges of such folding-incline being nearer to the axes of such folding rolls or guides than the operative surfaces of such rolls or guides whereby the tension upon the web directly at the fold of the paper is lessened, and yielding supports for both of such rolls or guides to adapt the same to two or more thicknesses of paper, and an adjustable stop to regulate the distance between the rolls or guides, substantially as set forth.

17. The combination with a folding mechanism for folding a paper web longitudinally, of external guides or rolls adjacent to the apex of the folder, arms carrying such external guides, and mechanism for moving the same toward or from the folded web si1nultaneously, rollers for drawing the web along, a belt and pulleys for driving such rolls, and

means for regulating the friction of the belt upon the pulleys and varying the action of the rolls upon the web of paper, substantially as set forth,

18. The combination in a printing-machine, of printing mechanism for printing upon the web, means for slitting the web longitudinally a movable switch and belts for changing the direction of the separated sheets from one halfweb and bringing them to coincide with the separated sheets from the other half-web so as to pass as one product to the one transverse folder, substantially as set forth.

19. The combination with two inclined converging folders for folding the webs longitudinally, of rolls for drawing the web along, mechanism for afterward separating the web into sheets, two transverse folders for acting upon the separated sheets, product-receptacles, tapes or belts and pulleys for conveying the separated products, and a movable switch for directing the products from one web to either one of the transverse folders so as to be either folded separately or conjointly with the product from the other web, substantially as set forth.

20. The combination with a rotary folder having revolving blades for folding the sheets transversely, of rollers or pulleys between which the sheets are folded by the action of the blades, pivoted arms for carrying the aXes of the rollers, springs for pressing the rollers toward each other, stops for determining the positions of the rollers in relation to the folding-blades, vertical guide-bars, and a product-receptacle, substantially as set forth.

21. The combination in a printing-machine adapted to print upon two or more webs, of a stationary converging folder for folding the two webs longitudinally one upon the other, rollers for drawing the webs along over such longitudinal folder and separate presses for printing upon the webs, the type-cylinders that print upon the web which runs in contact with th e longitudinal folder being slightly smaller in diameter than the type-cylinders that print upon the other webso that the printed sheets will register in consequence of the web that runs in contact with the folder being slightly shorter to make up for the stretch of the web resulting from the frictional contact of such web with the longitudinal folder as such web is pulled over the same.

22. The combination in a sheet delivery and folding apparatus, of a converging foldingincline, rollers adjacent to the apex of the incline, and supports and connected yielding mechanism for both of said rollers, sothat they may open or close uniformly at each side of the apex according to the thickness of the product passing through between them and a handle for separating the rolls, substantially as set forth.

23. The combination in a printing-machine adapted to print upon two or more webs, of a stationary converging folder for folding the two webs longitudinally one upon the other, rollers for drawing the web alone over such longitudinal folder, and separate presses havin g printing-cylinders that are parallel with each other for printing upon the webs and forwarding them in one direction to the folder, the type-cylinders that print upon the web which runs in contact with the longitudinal folder being slightly smaller in diameter than the type-cylinders that print upon the other web so that the printed sheets will register, substantially as set forth.

24. The combination in a printingmachine adapted to print on two or more webs, of two printing mechanisms each adapted to print upon one web and forward the same to a common point of delivery, and mechanism for superimposing, folding and cutting such webs, the mechanism that prints upon one web being slightly smaller than the mechanism for printing on the other web so as to maintain an accurate register of the printed sheets and neutralize any action in the machine tending to render the register of the sheets inaccurate, substantially as set forth.

25. The combination in a printing-machine adapted to print on two or more webs, of two printing mechanisms one above the other each adapted to print upon one web and forward the same to a common point of delivery, means for supporting the rolls of paper at one end of the machine, means for folding the associated webs at the other end of the machine, means for guiding the webs from the printing to the folding mechanism in one direction without turning, the mechanism that prints upon one web. being slightly smaller than the mechanism for printing on the other web so as to maintain accurate register of the printed sheets and neutralize any action in the machine tending to render the register of the sheets inaccurate, substantially as set forth.

26. The combination ina printing-machine of three printing-presses one above the other, means for supporting the rolls of paper one over the other and with their ends in substantially the same vertical planes, means for directing the printed web to a common point of delivery and superposing the webs and for folding and cutting the associated webs, the mechanism that prints upon one web being slightly smaller than the mechanism for printing on the other webs so as to maintain an accurate register of the printed sheets where the webs are associated together, substantially as set forth.

27. The combination in aprinting-machine adapted to print on two or more webs, of two printing mechanisms each adapted to print upon one web and means for carrying the printed webs without turning to a point of,

common delivery and superposing the webs, the mechanism that prints upon one web being slightly smaller than the mechanism for printing on the other web so as to maintain an accurate register of the printed sheets and neutralize any tendency to vary the register arising from a different condition of one web from the other web, substantially as set forth.

28. The combination in a printing-machine, of two or more printing-presses each adapted to print upon a web of paper, and means for forwarding the printed webs in the same general direction without turning or reversing and for superposing the webs and for cutting off the webs into sheets to form an associated product, the mechanism that prints upon one web being slightly smaller than the mechanism for printing on the other web, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

29. The combination in a printing-machine adapted to print upon two or more webs, of a stationary converging folder for folding the two webs longitudinally one upon the other, rollers for drawing the webs along over such longitudinal folder and separate printingpresses placed one above the other with supports for the rolls of paper at one end and having their printing-cylinders parallel with each other for printing upon the webs and forwarding them in one direction to the folder, the type-cylinders that print upon the web which runs in contact with the longitudinal folder, being slightly smaller in diameter th an the type-cylinders that print upon the outer web, so that the printed sheets will register, substantially as set forth.

30. The combination in a printing-machine, of two or more presses, each adapted to print upon a web of paper and means for forwarding the printed webs in the same general direction without turning or reversing, and for superposing the webs, and for folding and cutting off the webs into sheets to form an associated product, the type-cylinders of the printing-press which prints the inside sheet, being smaller than the type-cylinders of the press which prints the outside sheet, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

31. The combination in a printing-machine, of three printing-presses having their cylinders placed parallel with each other and each adapted to print upon a web of paper, means for forwarding the printed webs to a common point of delivery without turning or reversing and superposing the webs, a stationary longitudinal folder for folding the associated webs, and cutting mechanisms for cutting the webs into sheets, the type-cylinders which. print the web adjacent to the folder being smaller than the type-cylinders which print the other webs so as to maintain an accurate register of the printed sheets, substantially as set forth.

32. The combination in a printing-machine adapted to print on two or more webs, of two printing mechanisms each adapted to print upon one web and means for carrying the printed webs without turning or reversing to a point of common delivery, and superposing the webs, a stationary folder for folding the webs longitudinally, and rollers for drawing the webs over said folder, the mechanism that prints upon one web being slightly smaller than the mechanism for printing upon the other web, so as to maintain an accurate register of the printed sheets and neutralize any tendency to vary the register arising from a different condition of one web from the other web, substantially as set forth.

The combination in a printing-machine, of two or more printing-presses each adapted to print upon a web of paper, and means for forwarding the printed webs in the same general direction without turning or reversing and for superposing the webs, a stationary folder for folding the webs longitudinally, and rollers for drawing the webs over said folder, and for cutting off the webs into sheets to form an associated product, the mechanism that prints upon one web being slightly smaller than the mechanism for printing on the other web, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

Signed by me this 25th day of April, 1893.

\VALTER SCOT lVitnesses:

GEO. T. PINCKNEY, A. M. OLIVER. 

